One thing for sure, when we experience stress and anxiety, it doesn’t feel good.

Many of us just want to get rid of those feelings… because let’s face it, if it doesn’t feel good, it would make sense to want to change it. Right?

But wait: What if these emotions serves a purpose?

Feelings of stress and anxiety is our body’s way of alerting us to something that we should pay attention to… when it's working as it should.

One way to look at our emotions is that it’s part of our internal guidance system that helps us to survive. In other words, ALL of our emotions serves a purpose.

Once upon a time when there was a predator chasing us, the feeling of stress would alert us to make a run for it. To survive.

And while having to run from a predator is no longer a reality for many of us, the same internal stress system gets activated at work when there’s a deadline or having to deal with an unpleasant colleague or boss, or at home when your spouse is mad at you or when your kids are unhappy with you.

Based on any number of factors, however, what unfortunately happens to many of us, is that the warning system has gone awry.

The internal warning system has learned to become overly sensitized to any or specific kinds of stressors, so much so that the warning system finds itself constantly being tripped… which can perhaps be explained as anxiety.

It could be that it constantly feels like something isn’t quite right.

Or a sense that something bad can happen at any moment.

Or a feeling that there are no choices.

Or those nagging thoughts that completely take over for hours on end.

Feelings of unease, unsettledness, on red alert, feeling like you can jump out of your own skin at any time…

So while it definitely doesn’t feel great to be stressed or anxious, it is our internal system doing its job. Telling us something is off.

But consistent anxiety is when something feels off about somethings that can maybe, possibly, potentially be off.

Now that we have some understanding as to why we experience stress and anxiety, the larger question might be, Is there something that can be done about it?

The good news is, while the specific answer itself can be different for different folks, it is possible to manage, if not, figure out ways to turn the volume waaaaaaay down on these feelings.

I am very familiar with anxiety, my own and through my years of work supporting others in their unique and individual struggles with stress and anxiety.

Because of this, I am passionate about sharing and helping as many people possible to have a better understanding of anxiety and to spread hope that it can be manageable and better.

But here's where I need your help: If you haven't already, please share in the short survey above about what you would most like to learn about dealing with anxiety.

Your feedback will be crucial so that I know what to focus on to create resources that will be most helpful for you.

And most importantly, I hope you learn that you're not alone and that sharing your experiences can be part of the process for you to know that things can be different.

If you are currently experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety or in crisis, please reach out to one of the resources listed here.

Mio Yokoi is a Registered Psychotherapist, Certified NeurOptimal Neurofeedback Trainer and Total Wellness Coach. There was a time when the world felt like a brick wall with few options. With curiosity, dedication and hard work to cultivating her best self, the world now feels like her playground, and with her growth experience and training has been supporting others to thrive since 2009. Learn more about her here.

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You may have heard or read about neurofeedback which may have piqued your interest about its potential.

There are many resources addressing how neurofeedback works, whether on this website, other providers of neurofeedback and others discussing the potential and particulars about neurofeedback in various mediums.

Rather than to discuss the specific process of neurofeedback brain training here, what I would like to talk about in this post are my thoughts and subjective experience of regularly training with the NeurOptimal system, specifically relating to my work as a registered psychotherapist.

Firstly, in my professional work and in my personal philosophy, I strongly believe in our brains’ ability to be reflexive and adaptive. In other words, my beliefs are grounded in the science of neuroplasticity.

The potential of change work based in neuroplasticity is promising for shifts in mood, beliefs, habits and more. Further, based on my training in relational psychotherapy, I hold a belief that our relational experiences are impacted greatly by principles of neuroplasticity, specifically the existence and mechanics of our ‘mirror neurons’.

“Some researchers in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology consider that this system provides the physiological mechanism for the perception/action coupling (see the common coding theory). They argue that mirror neurons may be important for understanding the actions of other people, and for learning new skills by imitation. Some researchers speculate that mirror systems may simulate observed actions, and thus contribute to theory of mind skills, while others relate mirror neurons to language abilities.

Neuroscientists such as Marco Iacoboni (UCLA) have argued that mirror neuron systems in the human brain help us understand the actions and intentions of other people. In a study published in March 2005 Iacoboni and his colleagues reported that mirror neurons could discern whether another person who was picking up a cup of tea planned to drink from it or clear it from the table. In addition, Iacoboni has argued that mirror neurons are the neural basis of the human capacity for emotions such as empathy.” (Emphasis added by me.)

How is this possibly relevant to you as a helping professional and practitioner?

Because I work relationally in my practice, I am aware that I am consistently attuning to others in ways that are more concentrated than, in say, social situations.

And while I work to consciously attune with intention to multiple people per day, I have often wondered: “Is my brain able to finely distinguish the difference between the neural experience of others and my own? That is, enough to distinguish my own mood, affect and potentially thoughts from those of others?”

While I don’t believe I have any handy and concrete ways of being able to answer these questions, I can speculate that the neural experience of others and my own likely co-exist alongside one another within my brain and mind.

The follow-up question for me then becomes: “If I am consistently adding the neural experiences of others to my own, what might be the potential long-term impact this may have on my personal neural functioning and experiences?”

Again, I speculate that there would be some kind of impact whether it be emotional/compassion/professional fatigue or maybe even burn-out, without a practice in place to address this specific phenomena.

This not only can be problematic for me as an individual outside of my work, but I believe it would hinder my ability to work as effectively as I can professionally as well.

I understand it this way: When brain training, the neurofeedback system provides me with real-time information of my brain’s electrical activity and it lets me know when there are signs of dysregulation. When my brain is provided with the feedback, it is given the opportunity to self-correct... or to self-correct toward my own functioning.

In my experience, neurofeedback has provided me with a feeling and sense of clarity, flexibility in thoughts, and a deeper feeling of being able to separate myself from my thoughts. Through my own personal work and mindfulness practices, I had learned to not overly associate myself with my thoughts, but neurofeedback deepened this particular practice for me.

Those of us who work in the helping professions do much more than provide the services that we do. I truly believe that we give of ourselves in may ways, and perhaps in some ways which we may not even realize.

I can see this idea and reality being true for all helping professionals, from psychotherapists, psychologists, MDs, counsellors to mind-body therapists, including and not limited to, massage therapists, naturopaths, osteopaths, and more.

If you are curious about trying neurofeedback to see how it can be beneficial for you as a helping professional, please reach out by email or via the contact form. I welcome the opportunity of connecting with you.

Brain Training Toronto provides neurofeedback brain training sessions with NeurOptimal® in downtown Toronto which has been shown to improve brain functioning. More optimized brain functioning can result in enhancements in emotional and cognitive issues, learning and academics, general wellness, and personal growth. Brain Training Toronto is operated by Mio Yokoi, Toronto Therapist but NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is not provided as a psychotherapeutic, medical or any other therapeutic treatment. Further, the neurofeedback service is provided as a separate offering outside of the scope of practice of my RP designation. Discover what brain training can do for you.